Phuket

Climate is hot and humid throughout the year. The high season isgenerally considered to be from November to May. During the summer monsoonseason, mornings and afternoons are still sunny and clear, but it tends to rainin the evenings and water clarity goes down.

Locals consider May to October the”cool” season, and the weather is quite tolerable, much more so thanin the tourism centers around the Gulf coast. It’s comparable to Florida’s summer weatherin temperature and intensity of rain storms: 25-33 deg C, flying clouds, shortand thunderous rainfalls in the afternoons and evenings.

Surfing is possible off the western beaches, Phuket pronounced “Poo-get”, is Thailand’s largest island and also its second smallest province. It is 48 km in length, 21 km at its widest, and is located in SouthernThailand, on the west-facingAndaman Sea coastline, suspended from thesouthern tip of  Phang Nga Province by a pair of short butsubstantial road bridges.

Phuket Town

Is the administrative centre of Phuket Province, and the island’s mainpopulation centre.

Watersports Scuba diving

Yachting,jet-skiing and parasailing are the

most popular activities on the island. Mostdive sites are off nearby islands, but distances are short and there are dozensof dive shops and boats to cater to your needs, mostly based near Chalong Pier.

Phuketmight not have the historical sites thatBangkokand Chiang Mai have, but it does have a few.

Most visitors spend their time atthe beaches and in the bars. The most heavily-hyped attraction is the PhuketFantasea show at Kamala Beach, a self-proclaimed “culturaltheme park”, but comparisons toDisneylandare exaggerated at best.

However, Wat Chalong is a beautiful Buddhist temple located on the southern end of the island. There is also the history to be seen in Phuket Townand, of course, the sights and sounds of the Vegetarian Festival (which is notsuitable for young children or those who are queasy).

Elephant riding

This is a good way to support the remaining domesticated elephants of Thailandand their mahout, is fairly cheap, and can be an interesting new experience.

The elephants are well trained, and you can tip the mahout by giving the moneyto the elephant who will hand it to the mahout with its trunk.

Airport

The compact PhuketInternational Airport (IATA:HKT) (ICAO:VTSP) is located in the north of the island, and isThailand’ssecond largest hub. International departure tax is 500 baht (700 baht after1/1/07), payable in cash (there are several ATMs at the airport).

Departure taxfor domestic flights is included in the ticket. Flights Thereare very frequent flights to/from Bangkok as well as direct flights to many other airports inthe region, including Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and direct charters to Europe and Australiain the high season.

Domestic

Several domestic discount airlines fly here, including Air Asiaand Nok Air- tickets from Bangkok can cost under 1000 baht one-way if booked well inadvance, or around 2000 baht (including taxes) if bought on the day. Bangkok Airways has a monopoly on direct flights between Phuket and U-Tapao(Pattay Sattahip) and Ko Samui.

DestinationAir Shuttle offers direct seaplane transfers (some of which operateseasonally) between Phuket and Ko Lanta, Ko Phi Phi, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, the SimilanIslands, and other popular Andaman coast destinations.

International

AirAsiahas a direct flights from to Kuala Lumpur. Tiger Airwaysand JetstarAsiaAirways provide very affordable tickets  to Singapore. Other low cost direct connections include Hong Kong,Macao, Seoul, Kuala Lumpurand Jakarta.

Airport transfers

Limousine (blue)taxis from the airport are expensive, costing 500-600 baht to Patong Beachor Phuket Town Metered (yellow)taxis (available outside the car park gates) cost 300+ baht Minibus services(basically door-to-door share taxis) charge 100-200 baht per seat.

One realworldexample is from airport to Chalong to 6 persons was 1100 baht and there was notpossibility to lower it easily. Airport shuttlebus service (6:30-20:30, every 30 minutes) toPhuket Townbus station costs 52 baht; local buses run from there to all the major beaches untilaround 18:00 Bytrain.

The nearest train station is about 3 hours away, at Surat Thani. Bybus Busesto mainland destinations including Bangkok, Chumphon, Hat Yai, Krabi,Phang Nga, Ranong, Satun, Sungai Kolokand Surat Thaniuse the BKS terminal off Thanon Phang Nga in Phuket Town.

The most reliable buses from Bangkok are those from the Southern (Sai Tai Mai) Bus Terminal. The dodgy Khao San Road operations (which have a badreputation for theft, and often turn out to include a “surprise”transfer to a minibus at Surat Thani) are best avoided.

By taxi

Phukethas two types of taxi – millions (or so it seems) of small songthaew-styleminivans (usually bright red, occasionally bright yellow) called Tuk Tuks, anda much smaller number of conventional sedan-style taxis (yellow and red, with a”TAXI-METER” sign on top).

Theminivans are universally referred to as tuk-tuks(even though they have four wheels, not three). They have no meter, and theirdrivers are notoriously mercenary, so always agree a price beforehand and dobargain hard.

Short hops around town shouldn’t cost more than 40 baht, but goodluck getting from Patong to Phuket Town for under 200 baht. Forlonger distances the metered taxis are generally a better bet, so do your bitto break the iron grip of the minitaxi mafia and patronize them if you can.

You can hail one by telephone on 076-232157. There are also motorbike taxis. While you should never hop on the back of justanyone’s motorbike, motorbike taxi drivers wear bright numbered vests and areusually the cheapest way to go.

However, it is important to note that these are slightly more dangerous than a Tuk Tuk, for obvious reasons, and are notcomfortable for long trips. However, if you just need to get around town, they are a great way to go.

By boat Ferryservices connect fromRassada Port in Phuket Town to Ko Phi Phiand on to Krabion the mainland twice a day, taking 90 minutes and costing 350/650 bahtone-way/return, for each leg.

It’s usually a pleasant ride, but can be rather bumpy when it’s windy. There are also boats to Ko Racha (2 hours), the Similan Islands (9+ hours) and other islands in the high season only. Boatsand yachts can be chartered at Chalong Pier, the Boot Lagoon and the Yacht Haven.

It’s possible to visit Phuket by cruise ship. For cruises from Singapore,try Star Cruises  Bycar or bike Morethan 10,000 people are injured and over 250 killed every year in road accidentsin Phuket.

Nine out of ten accidents involve motorbikes. Major risk factors arethe hilly terrain, careless speeding drivers and driving at night, anddrunk-driving. Rentinga car or motorbike to explore the island on your own is a cost-effective way ofgetting off the beaten track.

However, given the atrocious driving habits o fmost locals and the resulting carnage on Phuket’s roads every year, the risksdo demand careful consideration. Motorcycle and scooter rentals start at around 150 baht/day, coming down to 100 baht dayfor rentals of a week or more.

Phuket police do enforce the crash helmet requirement, and also conduct frequent spot checks at which a driving licencemust be produced. Many rental agencies will not require to see your licence. Whether or not you need an international licence or just your licence from yourhome country is unclear.

So long as your licence from home is written in English,you should be fine. The current on-the-spot fine (you pay, you get a receiptand then they let you drive off – speaking from personal experience) for notcarrying a licence is 300 baht.

You may want to consider whether paying for aninternational licence is more expensive than just paying a fine or two whileyou are there.  Drivingin Phuket is a little crazy compared to most western nations, but nothing like what you can expect to see in Indonesia or India and congestion is limited toPhuket Town and the main stretches of Patong Beach; still nothing like we seeeverywhere in Japan.

Have some common sense and be ready to learn from watchinghow the locals drive and you will be quickly making your way happily around. Of course, it helps if you are accostomed to driving on the left side of the road.That in itself could be enough to detract some North American or Europeandrivers.

The major beaches from north to south are:

Bang Tao – long, very quiet beach Surin Beach – an up-and-coming destination Laem Singh Beach – small bay with stunningviews, betweenKamala Beach andSurin Beach Kamala Beach – a quieter beach to the north of Patong Patong Beach – the largest beach resort.

known for its nightlife Karon Beach – a quieter beach to the south of Patong Kata Yai Beach – busy, clean tourist beach withgood surf Kata Noi Beach – quieter sister of Kata Yai Ao Chalong – home to Phuket’s most popularyacht anchorage Rawai Beach – set off point for lots of localislands, popular with locals for eating on the beach.

Animal sanctuary

Visitthe Gibbon Rehabilitation Project by the beautiful Bang Pae waterfall.Theyhave a visitor centre manned by Western volunteers and English speaking Thaistaff who will talk to you about the project. Talks are free, but pleasesupport the project by buying a souvenir, sponsoring a gibbon or giving adonation. Don’t have your photo taken with a captive gibbon in Phuket or on thebeaches.